Explanation: The below poverty line households in the urban and rural areas of Uttar Pradesh will henceforth get free power connection and those above the poverty line will get the 100 per cent financing option with easy EMIs.

The decision was taken during a meeting between Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma on 27 March 2017.

Free power connection will be provided to urban and rural and below poverty line households and to the above poverty line households at reasonable EMIs.

The connections will be provided solely on the basis of the latest socio-economic census data, without discriminating on caste or religious lines.

Aside from this, an amnesty scheme would be provided to all the households and commercial connections that wish to take legal electricity connections.

The state would also run a state-wide campaign against power theft along with a drive to sensitise all the stakeholders to bring honesty into the sector by shunning corruption.

There would also be transparent monitoring to prevent harassment to the consumers at the hands of field officers.

A state power official will also be placed at each industrial feeder level to monitor the consumption, billing and collection and also to ensure the flow of 24 hrs reliable quality power to the industry.

Further, the Power Minister has directed the officials of the power ministry to conduct a weekly ground level review of the progress of the projects being implemented in the state along with the state power department officers in Lucknow.

The Minister also directed the state power officials to come up with a strategy to replace all the old thermal power plants in the state with Super Critical Power Plants.

It will also aim to engage in 100 per cent coal linkage swap in order to bring down the power costs for the common man.

3) Which sports drama was voted Best film of 2016 by the Film Companion Critics Poll?

ANSWER: "Sharing of Infrastructure in Television Broadcasting Distribution Sector".

Explanation: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on 29th March, 2017 released its recommendations on "Sharing of Infrastructure in Television Broadcasting Distribution Sector".

According to the recommendations of Trai secretary Sudhir Gupta the television (TV) broadcasting sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade.

There has been an exponential increase in the number of satellite TV channels which predominantly distributed using Cable TV, Direct to Home (DTH), and Head-End in the Sky (HITS) networks to subscribers.

At present, there are seven DTH operators, more than 1200 Multi System Operators(MSOs) and 2 HITS operators in the country.

The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) had sent a reference in April 2016 requesting TRAI to examine the issue of the infrastructure sharing and provide its recommendation.

The MIB had also sought recommendation on the amendment that may be required in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and Rules to facilitate the infrastructure sharing.

The TRAI examined the issues in sharing of infrastructure in TV broadcasting distribution sector comprehensively through comprehensive consultation with the stakeholders by issuing pre-consultation paper, consultation paper and conducting open house discussion with them.

After considering the comments, counter-comments and views expressed by the stakeholders during the consultation process, the recommendation was finalized on "Sharing of Infrastructure in Television Broadcasting Distribution Sector".

These recommendations are to ease up policy environment for facilitating sharing of infrastructure in TV broadcasting distribution sector, on voluntary basis.

In addition, it would lower the entry barriers for new service providers and provide more space on broadcasting distribution networks for niche channels - necessary for satisfying the diverse needs of general public - to reach targeted customers.

Lowering of entry barriers in the distribution space could propel competition in the market and more choices to consumers due to presence of multiple operators in single territory.

6) Supreme court has ordered the transition of vehicles to which BS level?

Explanation: In its order, an SC bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that even though the BSIII inventory is smaller than the total stock of vehicles in the country, public health is far more important than commercial interest of manufacturers.

This was a landmark judgment, upholding people's right to breathe clean air.

The particulate matter (PM) emissions from commercial vehicles will reduce by up to 80% with the transition to BS-IV.

In two-wheelers, hydrocarbon (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions will reduce by 41-80%, depending on the engine size.

The analysis based on Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' submission in the SC had revealed that many companies continued production of BS III vehicles in large numbers between January and March 2017.

According to the industry data, there are about eight lakh unsold BS-III vehicles in the country.

The transport ministry's notification on transition to BS IV had come two years ago.

The amicus curiae in the case, Harish Salve, said in his affidavit to SC that the transition to BS IV is a critical step to combat toxic air pollution in the country.

The note recounts that the SC-mandated Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had given a prior notice to automakers so that BS III inventories can be reduced and manufacture of BS IV vehicles can be started.

BS Norms: Know More

Bharat stage emission standards' are emission standards instituted by the Government of India.

It is to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000.

Explanation: State Bank of India on 28th March 2017 announced offering credit cards to account holders with a balance of INR 20,000-25,000.

The card called Unnati will be offered through a network of 20 thousand plus SBI branches.

SBI will not consider the customer's credit history. Card called Unnati will be issued free for first four years.

Lack of credit history will be the challenge in increasing card penetration in the country. Card will facilitate generation of credit history for fresh users which will bring them into the organised financial stream.

To encourage adoption of credit cards and facilitate expansion in the reach of digital payments, the SBI Card Unnati will be offered free, at zero annual fee, for four years.

SBI has close to 30 crore customer accounts, including Jan Dhan Yojana. Post-demonetisation the balance amount in these accounts increased significantly.

Many customers do not have credit history and are not eligible for cards. SBI wants to bring about financial inclusion in terms of credit facility with this new product.

The Bank is also in the process of increasing its stake in SBI Card to 74 per cent.

SBI currently holds 60 per cent stake in SBICPSL and 40 per cent in GECBPMSL.

The balance being held by GE Capital in both the ventures.

The SBI has approval to infuse Rs 1,160 crore in the two JVs - SBI Cards and Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBICPSL) and GE Capital Business Processes Management Services Ltd (GECBPMSL)- through purchase of equity shares from GE Capital.

This is to increase the bank's stake in both the companies to 74 per cent.

Explanation: India has become a net exporter of electricity during the April-February 2017 period this fiscal for the first time.

This is as per the Central Electricity Authority, the designated authority of the government of India for cross border trade of electricity.

This is the first time India has turned from net importer of electricity to net exporter.

According to the statement, during the current year 2016-17 (April-February), India has exported around 5,798 million units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

This is 213 million units more than the import of around 5,585 million units from Bhutan.

Export to Nepal and Bangladesh increased 2.5 and 2.8 times respectively in the last three years. Ever since the cross border trade of electricity started in mid-80s, India has been importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal in radial mode at 33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively.

On an average, Bhutan has been supplying around 5,000-5,500 million units to India.

India had also been exporting around 190 MW power to Nepal over 12 cross border interconnections at 11kV, 33kV and 132 kV level.

The export of power to Nepal further increased by around 145 MW with commissioning of Muzaffarpur (India)– Dhalkhebar (Nepal) 400kV line (being operated at 132 kV) in 2016.

The export of power to Bangladesh from India got further boost with commissioning of the first cross border interconnection between Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh at 400kV in September 2013.

It was further augmented by commissioning of second cross border Interconnection between Surjyamaninagar (Tripura) in India and South Comilla in Bangladesh.

At present, around 600 MW power is being exported to Bangladesh.

The export of power to Nepal is expected to increase by around 145 MW shortly over 132 kV Katiya (Bihar) - Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar) - Parwanipur (Nepal).

Explanation: General Bipin Rawat, India's army chief is on a 4 day visit to Nepal in March 2017. He was conferred with the honorary rank of the general of the Nepal Army and held talks with top leadership.

Chief of Staff Nepal Army Purna Chandra Thapa received Gen. Rawat. The honorary general of Nepal Army was conferred by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

General Rawat will also visit famous tourist spots and pilgrim sites in Nepal besides inspecting the high altitude training centre of Nepal Army and visiting the Indian Ex-Army pension paying camp situated in Pokhara.

General Rawat, who became the chief of the Indian Army on December 31, is also scheduled to visit Pashupati Nath temple.

Such high-level exchange of visits between Nepal Army and the Indian Army will help deepening and expanding bilateral relations between the two armies.

Nepal Army: Know More

The Nepalese Army is the armed military Land warfare force of Nepal available internationally.